


Better Off Without You

by Garpie64



Series: Jason Todd Rare Pair Challenge [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Beating, M/M, Major Character Injury, No editing we die like mne, RHATO #25 aftermath, bruce is a terrible parent, do not copy to other sites
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-10-01 17:49:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20356105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Garpie64/pseuds/Garpie64
Summary: Jason shot the Penguin. Bruce is enraged. Kyle's desperately racing to save his boyfriend.





	Better Off Without You

If you are reading this on another site or app that isn't AO3, this work has been stolen and posted without permission. If the site or app has ads, is monetized, or required a fee, you have been scammed. If a site or app claims to provide offline reading, AO3 already allows fics to be downloaded for offline viewing.

#

Gotham city was in a state of utter chaos. The police were scrambling in the search for a single suspect. The Penguin’s men were out for blood as their boss was rushed into surgery. Crime Alley was alive with gunfire as the police fended off Penguin’s forces while trying to usher civilians to relative safety. In the sky, the Outlaw’s headquarters came raining down in fire and shrapnel.

The Batman was silent in his hunt for the man who caused all of this. He radiated cold fury. Rage bubbled just below the surface. He was a ticking time bomb waiting to erupt. His body held great tension, prepared to fight; to unleash all that anger on one single person.

Bruce had trusted Jason. He gave him the chance to prove he could be better. He allowed Jason to return to Gotham, gave him the opportunity to amend his mistakes, to earn forgiveness and rejoin the family. Bruce allowed Jason to work in his city with one condition: do not kill. That was the deal. Jason knew the price of breaking that deal. Jason had held to the rule and fooled them all into thinking he had changed.

He was a fool to have ever believed him. He should have known Jason could never change. He should have seen the truth, the facts. Jason would never become better. He was a product of his childhood. Bruce should have acted long before all of this mess. He made a mistake. Now he would correct that mistake. Bruce would no longer let himself be fooled again. It was time to put an end to the Red Hood.

“You are a character. I’ve never seen you hit Joker that hard and you hate him.”

“Shut up!”

Jason grunted as Bruce’s fist made contact with his face. He would have crashed to the ground if Bruce hadn’t grabbed him by the throat. The sensation was familiar. This whole situation was strikingly similar to nights when Willis had fallen into the bottle and Catherine clung to her needle. He didn’t really listen then. He wasn’t really listening to Bruce’s speech. He didn’t have time for this. He needed to stop the giant hunk of metal from destroying Gotham. He needed to get free.

There was more righteous bullshit as fists came raining down hard on him until suddenly they were gone and there was just Bizarro rushing him off to their home. 

And then they were gone. His family, his home was gone swallowed up in a portal. He didn’t know if they were alive or dead. He just knew they were gone and he more than likely lost the last bit of family he had managed to scrape together, but there was no time to mourn. Bruce was still there. 

Another devastating hit to the face sent him flying backwards.

He stayed down as Bruce lunged for him.

The next hit blacked out his vision.

The heavy weight made it even harder to breathe with his broken ribs.

The rip of fabric was deafening.

“I once told you if you ever left, it would be your choice not mine.” 

Bullshit. 

Jason bared his teeth trying to will his body to work. He needed to fight back. He wasn’t going to Arkham. Not again. Not after all the hell he went through under sadistic doctors and revenge hungry rogues. He couldn’t get his limbs to move. He couldn’t get any part of him to function. He couldn’t go back to that hell or whatever hole Bruce had waiting for him. He’s pretty sure Bruce would throw him into the deepest darkest cell and forget him again. He had to act, but Bruce’s fist still came raining down one after the other.

His body wouldn’t respond to his ever growing desperate pleas to move; to defend himself against a man that had snapped. He couldn’t even throw his arms up to protect his head as Bruce snarled out more. Jason couldn’t really understand what he was saying. His ears were ringing. Blood was rushing and his head pounded. He couldn’t...it hurt and Bruce was glaring down at him with eyes on fire with hatred.

The last thing he saw was a streak of light and then another fist.

~ * ~

Kyle set down on the island that once served as a base and home for the Outlaws. No one had been here for a while, but it was still safe and most importantly it was hidden from Batman. He looked down to the man in his arms. The great big bad Red Hood looked so damn small in his arms. There were bloody scratches along his face from where his helmet had shattered. Blood still seeped out of his broken nose and lingered at the corner of his mouth. Sweat matted down dark locks with bruises forming on his face. Kyle could already see signs of bad bruising around his eye and possibly a broken cheekbone and missing teeth.

Batman, Bruce, had not held back. He beat Jason and Kyle feared how far Bruce would have gone if he hadn’t jumped in and whisked Jason away. Jason had already fallen unconscious when Kyle dragged Bruce off him and still Bruce had wanted to spout garbage over stopping Jason – no he was only Red Hood to Bruce – and that he was so dangerous. It ignited rage inside Kyle as he gathered Jason’s limp broken body in his arms. How could Jason be dangerous then? Why did he need to be subdued when he wasn’t able to move?

Bruce was lucky that Jason needed Kyle in that moment or Bruce would need his other little Robins to drag him off to the hospital. Kyle clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth to prevent his grip from tightening on Jason’s heavily injured form. Taking a deep breath, he cooled his anger and focused on healing Jason. Thankfully the ship still remembered him and Jason allowing them inside. Kyle went immediately to the infirmary.

He laid Jason out on a table watching as the alien tech evaluated his wounds. With each new injury cataloged, Kyle’s worry and anger grew. Bruce should have known better. Jason wasn’t a common criminal. He was supposedly part of his family. He was supposedly Bruce’s son. Where the hell was everyone else? Dick talked about family all the damn time, but he never stepped in to stop the blatant abuse. He can forgive Damian. He was just a kid, but what about Barbara? Alfred? Or all the others in the giant Bat clan? Where were they when Bruce went off the deep end and almost kill his son?

Kyle shook his head. He reached out to take Jason’s hand, running his thumb over bruised and busted knuckles. No, Jason wasn’t Bruce’s son. The Bats weren’t Jason’s family. They claimed him when it was convenient for them, happy to take him back after leaving him alone to fight his demons. Jason didn’t just magically become better. It took years of work with Roy, Kori, himself, and even Donna that Jason managed to claw his way out of hell. Kyle didn’t care what the Bats claimed, they abandoned Jason the moment he became too hard to handle, the moment he disagreed. 

No more. They weren’t going to hurt Jason anymore. Jason didn’t need them. He had a real family here.

“Kyle?” Jason’s voice was hoarse and broken.

“Hey Jay, I’m here.” Kyle tried to smile, but from the frown on Jason’s face it wasn’t too convincing. “I’m going to take care of you, okay?”

“Bruce!” Jason darted up. He cried out as pain surged up from his stomach. Kyle carefully guided him back down onto the bed.

“Bruce won’t find you. I won’t let him hurt you, him or any of the others.” Kyle promised. “I’m going to protect you.”

“But he’s...he’s Batman. He’s going to find us.” Jason shook his head. “No one can protect me from him.”

Kyle’s heart ached. He reached up to cup Jason’s cheeks and make him look at him. “Jason, when have I ever lied to you?”

Jason turned wide vulnerable eyes towards Kyle. “Never, you’ve never lied to me.”

Kyle’s breath was caught in the honesty in his voice, in the awe and damn near devotion in his eyes. There was so much trust and love in Jason’s eyes. It was that trust that destroyed Jason when he gave it to Bruce and the other Bats. It was the trust that opened him up to pain and disappointment. Kyle wouldn’t let that happen to Jason again. He wouldn’t let him be taken advantage of again. Jason was always called the bad boy, the bad seed, but he was a bleeding heart. He was so willing to bend the moment anyone showed him affection. He was so forgiving to the bullshit the Bats did to him, to what Kyle did.

Jason should have never forgiven him for being a jerk to him the entire of their dimension jumping and they left him to find a way home on his own. And yet, Jason had. He had forgiven Kyle far too easily and he kept forgiving Bruce and his family after every thing they did. It was breaking him down. No more. Kyle was putting his foot down here and now. 

With a gentle kiss to Jason’s forehead he made a promise. “They aren’t your family, Jason. You and me, Roy, Lian, Kori, Biz and Artemis. That’s our family. That’s all you have to worry about and we’re always going to be here.”

“But Bizarro and Artemis...they’re...” Jason clung to him, desperate and shaking.

“We’ll find them. I promise.” Kyle whispered. He stroked over Jason’s uninjured skin. “Together as a family.”

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/garpie64)


End file.
